I remember being a kid, living in Liverpool, and there always being huge buzz whenever the Grand National was on. In the days leading up to it we’d get together as a family and look at the names of all the horses in the paper, then we’d each choose the one we wanted. It was a treat! I loved horses, they were so beautiful and strong and graceful. I’d look through the names until I found one I felt had some kind of affinity with. I never understood or even looked at the odds. I was too young. It was on name alone that I’d make my selection!

“This is what annoys me most about vegans – when they want to try and stop me eating bacon. I mean… it’s bacon! Perfectly cooked, sandwiched between two slices of white bread, with a dollop of brown or red sauce… the smell, the taste… it’s making me hungry just thinking about it! I don’t want to know why it’s so bad and I don’t much care. Leave me with the holy grail, the splendour… me and my bacon.”

I thought I’d have a bit of fun with my latest article, and ask ten tree-hugging, cardigan-wearing, rabbit-food munching, vegan-weirdo extremists a few questions about how they were brainwashed, why they decided to join a cult, and what it’s like to live as a protein-deficient anaemic…

With an increasing amount of men now opting for a plant-based diet, the old perception that it makes you ‘less manly’ if you don’t eat meat, is fast being wiped out. David Haye, Mike Tyson, Nate Diaz, Mac Danzig, and even Mr Universe 2014 – Barny du Plessis – are all proving beyond doubt, that you can be vegan AND exceptionally strong.

People don’t tell you about the downside. They talk about the incredible health benefits and the reduction of risk for heart disease and cancers. They talk about how it supports the planet because animal agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation, species extinction, habitat loss, ocean dead zones and greenhouse gas emissions. They tell you about how you’re no longer contributing to the horrific torture, mutilation and misery in the everyday lives of innocent animals and the horror they endure in the slaughterhouse.